NYCHA Building Audit Reveals Broken Entry Locks
One of the big complaints of the tenants of the NYCHA housing complexesas Julia Morales, who lives in Lower Manhattan, has to do with the doors of the entrances of the buildings.
The Dominican confesses to being “property” that the main door of the housing complex where he lives is never closed, and strangers frequently walk “like Pedro through his house”, putting the safety of the tenants and the cleanliness of the place at risk. “Those doors have never worked and it’s as if you didn’t pay rent here. We deserve respect and to have something basic like doors fixed. And not to mention the elevators.
and a report from the Municipal Comptroller not only addressed complaints like that but, after doing an audit in the NYCHA buildingsfound that 40.1% of the entrance doors of public complexes have broken locks and almost 60% were open.
Specifically, the so-called “resident-driven audit” showed that the entrance doors to buildings that were open or with damaged locks increased from 23.5% in 2018 to 57.9% in 2022.
After reporting the findings, the City Comptroller Brad Lander He expressed the importance that in this analysis process, the NYCHA tenants themselves are taking actions to denounce the bad conditions.
“The goals of the ‘Resident-Driven Audit’ are to give NYCHA residents true leadership in oversight work and advance urgently needed repairs and quality of life issues that matter most to them. ”, assured the official. “As we listen to hundreds of NYCHA residents at Family Days, structured roundtables, and informal discussions this summer, it has been heartbreaking to hear the level of frustration, mistrust, and appalling conditions they endure.”
Lander said the broken doors in the buildings “endanger the safety of the residents and convey a lack of respect and stability from the start,” and demanded immediate repairs.
To make this report, the Audit Office of the Comptroller visited 262 NYCHA complexes between August 30 and September 8 last.
“The challenges facing NYCHA are great, and both the costs of repair and the need to reform administration can seem daunting. But making sure the building’s front doors are closed and secured is a significant and achievable step in restoring basic services, safety and trust.” added Comptroller Lander.
Among the recommendations issued for NYCHA to follow, the Comptroller warned that “damaged exterior doors should be repaired or replaced, all exterior doors should be regularly inspected, and all doors and locks maintained in good working order.”
Until now NYCHA it has not referred to the findings of the Comptroller’s report or the recommendations.
Recommendations Issued Following NYCHA’s Doorstep Audit
- Repair or replace damaged or missing exterior doors and equip them with strong, functional hardware
- Regularly inspect all exterior doors and keep all doors and locks in good working order
- Conduct a top-to-bottom review of your security and maintenance systems and procedures to ensure that when exterior doors are blocked or unsecured, maintenance personnel are immediately aware of the conditions and the doors are immediately fixed
- Repair or replace damaged or missing door closers, door release buttons, intercoms, locks, and keys
- Interact with NYCHA residents and authorized visitors and NYCHA employees and contractors and communicate the importance of securing exterior doors
